Church changes 81-year-old blood rule 23 days after young man who refused transfusion dies

In August 2026, 26-year-old Isaac Valdez was browsing books at a library near his home when he suffered a seizure, striking his head on the floor. Tests in hospital revealed a brain haemorrhage.

That was when a serious complication arose. He belonged to the Jehovah's Witnesses and carried a card stating that, for reasons of faith, he would not accept any blood transfusion. Because of this, the procedure to drain the fluid accumulating in his brain was not carried out.

His family, from Waxahachie, Texas, hoped when he regained consciousness and began to speak. But he remained firm in refusing a transfusion, and when his condition worsened he fell into a coma. The neurosurgeon said only emergency surgery, which would require blood, could save him. Respecting the beliefs he had held all his life, the family declined the surgery. He died on 26 August when life support was withdrawn.

Just 23 days later, the church's governing body announced its biggest change to its teaching on transfusion: most treatments using components of donated blood would no longer be forbidden, leaving the choice to individuals. The change could have made the treatment Isaac refused religiously permissible.

"The leadership should have made this decision earlier. Had it done so, Isaac might still be alive," his twin brother Jacob Valdez said angrily, describing him as an intelligent man devoted to volunteering and helping the elderly.

The ban dated to 1945, based on an interpretation of Bible verses, in particular the advice in the Acts of the Apostles to abstain from blood. Church spokesman Paul Gillies said the change applied biblical principles to modern medicine: whole blood remains forbidden, but plasma, red blood cells and platelets may now be used.

Even so, with the Bible saying nothing directly about transfusion, the announcement has left many asking whether 81 years of outright prohibition was itself an over-interpretation.